The Fairly Oddparents is FINALLY(?) Over

So last night in the US, Nicktoons, the subscription-based premium channel of Nickelodeon, aired what is apparently THE final episode of The Fairly Oddparents. This is according to the Twitter account of "Nick and More" a news group dedicated to report the ins and outs of the Nickelodeon brand. So their reporting is indeed legitimate.

Now to clarify, Nick and More did say that the episode that aired last night was the 167th episode. The last production-ordered episode actually aired back in February. So this season of The Fairly Oddparents are being aired out of order and that the 167th episode was the last one on the list.

Nick and More also said that neither Nickelodeon or FOP creator Butch Hartman has announced a new season of the Fairly Oddparents. Hartman himself has not said anything about FOP since the last episode aired. I did tweeted him about it but have yet to get a reply.

Normally a new season is to be announced either during the current season's broadcast, or shortly after the last season ended so the production team can get to work before the next season's premiere date. I would probably give it a week. If neither Hartman nor Nickelodeon say anything, then we can safely say that yes, The Fairly Oddparents is indeed over after 16 years and over 160episodes.

The Fairly Oddparents as I said has been around for 16 years and until recently is always aired on Nickelodeon. But when it moved to Nicktoons a few months ago, it's a bad omen. For those unfamiliar, Nicktoons is only available for Cable and Satellite subscribers who pay the higher premiums and is not available on basic cable. This means that Nicktoons has a much smaller audience compared to the main Nickelodeon channel. And if an ongoing series is to moved from Nickelodeon to Nicktoons, it usually means the network wants to burn off the series and get rid of it for good. This has happened in the case of Harvey Beaks, and unless my memory is screwed up, the Legend of Korra as well.

I believe I can speak for everyone that we are all relieved that the show is finally over. When it first aired in 2001, it was a great series with its comedy, characters, and even has a plot that makes you care for the show. But it has far overstayed its welcome. Many elements of the show's lore are either retconned or removed entirely. Characters like Tootie and Trixie leave the show and replaced with Chloe. And the show just ain't funny anymore. No pun intended, but all the magic that made The Fairly Oddparents great has long since disappeared.

Furthermore, 16 years is way too long for a kids show. If you've watched the first episode as a 10 year old, you'd be in your mid-twenties by now. And this isn't like Doraemon or the Simpsons where the show is almost always episodic in nature with no end in sight. My only disappointment is that, if this is indeed the end of The Fairly Oddparents, it was never given a proper ending. So it did not end with bang, but with a whimper. Or in this case, Timmy in a girl's outfit for the nth time.